


Kitty Cat

by Angelicat2



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: ...or are they???, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cat Keith (Voltron), Cat Shiro (Voltron), Fluff, Gen, Keith and shiro are together..., Keith and shiro both get hurt, M/M, POV Hunk (Voltron), POV Lance (Voltron), POV Pidge | Katie Holt, POV Shiro (Voltron), Panic Attacks, Phantom pain, Threats of medical torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 15:04:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15932873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelicat2/pseuds/Angelicat2
Summary: Shiro and Keith have both been turned into cats while in the middle of a fight. It's all cute and fun until the castle is attacked and taken over.





	Kitty Cat

Lance nearly facepalmed. _They said the mission was easy._

_They said nothing could possibly go wrong!_

He sighed as he stared down with a lost expression on his face. Beside him, Hunk shifted. On the other side, Pidge fidgeted with her computer.

"What is going on?" Allura asked as she stepped into the room with a stern yet curious expression, "And why are you all hanging out here?"

Lance looked back down, but evidently, the gorgeous Altean princess couldn't see what was in between the Green Paladin and him. Shrugging, he continued to stare. He didn't blame her for asking since they rarely ever stayed in Green's hangar right after battle. They were still in their armor.

"And where are Shiro and Keith?" She asked as she looked around the room. Lance did facepalm this time as he tried not to think of what had happened. He didn't need to look beside him to know that his best friend was pointing in front of him.

"We have a problem," Pidge stated as she paused her typing to stare at the same spot, "Shiro and Keith got turned into cats."

It was true. Cat Shiro meowed for the first time. He was sitting on his back legs, his fur was black except for the fur on his head that was similar to his white floof. Scars littered his fur and he had his regular scar across his nose. His right front arm had a stub that was cluttered with old scars, and Lance wondered why the metal arm didn't transform with him.

Beside him laid Keith. Lance thought it was really weird to see his rival as a feline. His fur was pure black, and luckily, he didn't have his terrible mullet, just a little fur on his head. His body was mainly unmarked except for the right shoulder where a long scar rested as if he'd been cut with some weapon. He was skinny to the point that Lance was questioning was healthy, and he could see his muscles.

Both were calm, tails swaying back and forth in what the Cuban thought was indifference. Lance was a little freaked out that the cats were moving their tails in sync, but he ignored it as he glanced at the princess.

"They've been turned into..." She saw them, and her eyes widened in shock, "Oh..."

"Yeah...oh," Pidge mimicked as she frowned at her computer, "And we don't know how to get them back to being human...er, mostly human."

Lance laughed as Keith glared at her before his purplish eyes narrowed on him. Stopping, he raised both hands in the air as Keith went back to looking unaffected. 

"How is Keith's glare so scary even as a cat?" Lance shuddered as Hunk looked nervous.

"Is he going to...you know, attack or something?" He asked quietly as said cat's ear flicked, "Because Keith is adorable as a cat, but I don't think he's any less...Keith-like."

"Perhaps we should talk about how they got turned into cats," Allura coughed as she crossed her arms, "What happened?"

"We're not sure," Pidge answered as she inspected her computer, "One moment, Shiro and Keith were talking to us on the comms, and the next thing we know-"

"BOOM!" Lance shouted as he waved his arms in the air. Both cats startled as they stared at him with annoyance clearly written on their faces.

"And..." Pidge's face was also annoyed and Lance shrugs, "Like Lance demonstrated, there was a loud noise. Neither would respond, we rushed in, found these two, and got out. We also found the red bayard so that's that."

"We've been in here trying to figure out what happened since then," Hunk stated with a small smile as he grabbed some wires he had been messing with in the last hour, "But we haven't found anything."

"Maybe it will wear off," Allura said as if she weren't sure it would work out that way, "In any case, it's late. We need to go to bed. We'll figure this out as soon as we get up."

"Where do we put them?" Lance asked as he glanced at the two cats. Keith had moved and was now sniffing at the older cat's stump hesitantly. Shiro didn't move, but he seemed a little stiffer than before until Keith licked his shoulder, and he relaxed a little. Shaking his head, Lance looked back at the others, "I don't think they can go to their rooms."

"Hm?" Allura seemed to think about it slowly before she grinned back, "We have just the area for them on the ship. There's a room that is made just for small animals. We'll put them there."

"Alright," Hunk put his project away as they all got to their feet, "Let's go put them in there...just for the night though, right?"

"Just for the night," she agreed. Lance picked Shiro up just like he did earlier, but he wasn't expecting the other ebony cat to jump on him. In one quick leap, Keith landed on his shoulder as he held the three-legged cat in his arms.

"Keith, what the..." He raised a brow and rolled his eyes as he started for the door after the princess and Pidge, "Showoff. Always trying to one-up me."

\-----

It took them a good twenty minutes to actually figure out where they were going, and Lance was so happy to get into the room if it meant he could put down the two cats. Both had fallen asleep in that amount of time, Shiro had his head laid on Lance's arm, and Keith had his body curled up on his shoulder.

Walking into the room, he wasn't surprised to see an outdoors scenery. Kaltenecker's pen looked similar, but this one had a few trees scattered here and there. In the middle of the room was a cage with crystal blue glass like on the pods. There were about three or four dozen separate cell areas.

"What were these for?" Pidge demanded to know as she inspected one of them curiously, "And why are there so many?"

"Sometimes there were guests in the castle who would have pets with them when they visited," she grinned as she told them something from her past, "The pets stayed here during the nights and were with their owners the rest of the time."

"Okay," Hunk stated as he carefully grabbed Keith who continued to sleep, "Let's get them in there...I guess."

Allura held her hand up and two pens opened right next to each other. Placing Shiro in one and Keith in the other, they stood back as the doors closed. Strangely, not even ten seconds later, Keith woke up and glanced around tiredly. He must have noticed that he was in the pen because he glanced around before moving to the opaque covering.

He tilted his head as he tapped the glass. Lance was about to say something when the cat panicked. Keith started to scratch at the gate, and Lance was a little unsettled at the scared way he was doing it. They couldn't hear him through the glass, but they knew he had to have been yowling. 

"What's going on?"

Black paws started to paw faster at the gate, and Lance grew worried as Keith started pacing and finding other places to scratch. When he didn't pause, only getting worse seconds later, they all frowned. Lance didn't know what was happening, and he hoped his teammate wasn't hurt or anything.

"What's wrong?" Allura asked as Keith continued with a few huffs joined into the mix, "Perhaps-"

"Look!" Pidge exclaimed as she pointed right at the other pen, and Lance understood. Shiro was still sleeping, laid out on his left side. His legs twitched as if in the middle of a nightmare.

"Let Keith in with him," Lance stated as he looked back at the frantic cat, "Maybe he can sense what's going on...I mean, this is mullet. He always knows when Shiro's in trouble."

Allura seemed hesitant for a moment before she quickly raised her hands again. The wall between them disappeared, and Keith rushed to the larger cat's side.  Gently tapping his side with his paw, Shiro jerked awake. Eyes wide, he looked ready to bolt until he saw Keith who responded with a series of inaudible noises and a swooshing tail. Less than a minute later, Shiro was calm again, asleep once more. Keith somehow curled up around him and fell asleep too. Lance had to admit that it looked adorable.

"What was that?" He yelled in disbelief. Luckily, the cats couldn't hear them through the glass, and they didn't so much as move. Hunk, Pidge, and Allura stared at their teammates before shrugging at him.

"They've always been close," the princess observed with clenched hands, "Perhaps he sensed Shiro's trouble."

"Aren't they soundproof?" Pidge asked as she carefully poked on the glass of their cage, "We can't hear them, they can't hear us, and each other?"

"Yes," Allura frowned as dark memories ran through her mind, or at least, that's what Lance thought, "We made them each soundproof because most of the animals were very...territorial. They would try to get into fights with one another if they heard each other. We had to keep them separated."

"Except for Shiro and Keith," Pidge frowned softly as if in thought, "They need to be close to each other. Let's agree to not separate them again."

"Ditto," Hunk agreed as he yawned, "I'm ready for bed."

"This armor is really annoying right now," Pidge nodded as she stretched, not looking tired at all.

"I need a shower," Lance could feel the dried sweat sticking on the inside of his black under suit, "And my beauty rest. Can't get anywhere if I don't get that."

"Alright," the princess nodded as they started for the door, "Your rooms are near, only three hallways down to the left. I'll be going to bed myself. I'll see you in the morning. Good night."

They stated their good nights as she walked away. Letting out a sigh, Lance rubbed his eyes as he and his best friends stumbled to their own rooms. Saying night to them, he walked into his room, took a shower, and was asleep as soon as his head landed on his pillow.

\-----

Hunk grabbed his project he had been working on the night before, a tray of breakfast, and two dishes with some food for Shiro and Keith. He thought it was really weird that they were felines, but he wanted to coo as he thought of them. They were so cute as cats. Walking into the room, he saw that Pidge was inside, her glasses gleaming as her computer ran on one of her programs.

"Hey, Hunk," she stated without glancing back, "They haven't woken up yet."

He looked at the pen to see that sometime in the night, the two had shifted as Shiro now had his larger body wrapped around Keith's lithe form. It was adorable, and Hunk smiled softly before giving Pidge one of the muffins on the tray and taking one for himself. Getting a thanks from her, he settled down and continued his project from earlier. Almost half an hour later, he finished it when Pidge spoke up, "What is that?"

Hunk blinked before he figured out what she meant as he held up the object, "I made a laser toy. You know, the ones like what we have on Earth. I thought it would be a good distraction for them if they were cats longer than a day."

"You just want to see if they chase the laser," Lance stated from behind him, "Don't you, you gassy genius?"

"Yeah, that too," he felt himself flush as he grinned, "I haven't seen an Earth cat in forever. I might be more of a dog person, but I love cats too."

"We get it, we get it," his best friend grabbed one of the muffins, "They are kinda cute, in a weird way."

Just then, he saw Shiro stir. The cat glanced around before his gaze landed back to a sleeping Keith. He quickly licked Keith's head before getting up and stretching, which looked a little awkward with his right leg missing. Moments later, Keith woke up as he also stretched out. Hunk wondered how he got the scar on his shoulder because it looked like it hurt when it happened. Moving forward, he tapped on the glass slowly.

"Is there any way to open this?" He questioned as he pointed to the two dishes nearby, "I was going to give them their food."

"It opens without the princess being here," Pidge tapped a screen a few times, and the door dissolved. Both Keith and Shiro sniffed the air before they jumped to the ground. Hunk carefully pushed each small container to them, each with some of Kaltenecker's milk, and stood back. Shiro looked from him to the food before taking a lick. He must have decided it wasn't too bad because he started drinking it even more.

Keith stared at the dish distrustfully as he sniffed it.

"Is he really that picky?" Lance demanded from Hunk's side as they watched said cat stare at the food. This went on until he saw that Shiro was almost finished, and he started eating it. Somehow, he finished just as the older cat did, so Hunk guessed he was starving. He couldn't blame him...Keith was a pretty skinny cat.

"How do we get them back to normal?"

"I don't know," the green-clad girl stated with a shrug as her eyes never left the screen on her computer, "There's no residential energy on them, and I can't see anything that would cause this. Maybe Allura was right... Maybe it has to get out of their system naturally."

"And in the meantime!" Lance exclaimed as the two cats looked unimpressed, "We can test the laser ball out."

"Laser ball?" Hunk raised a brow as he stared at the device in his hands, "I guess it looks like one..."

"Let's test it while Pidgeon," that got a protest from her as his best friend went on, "Is doing her boring stuff over there."

She grumbled before she typed more on her keyboard. Lance led the two cats further into the trees as Hunk followed. When they got to a clearing, they settled down.

"What settings do you have?"

Hunk listed them off on his fingers.

"Easy, medium, and difficult," he thought about it, "We can control it or it can do it on it's own. The lasers can be clear or they can be somewhat solid for a few seconds, and the colors change."

"Cool," Lance took it into his hand as he pressed a few things. A neon orange streak of light landed right between the two cats and both were startled. Letting out a laugh, Lance aimed it better as a bolt of green left the device. Taking the shape of a butterfly, it fluttered over their heads. Both Shiro and Keith tilted their heads before getting ready to pounce. Both jumped at the same time, the projection dissolved just as they tapped it, and both fell back to the floor, Keith flopped on top of Shiro. Both were stunned, and even Hunk had to laugh.

"We gotta record this!" Lance laughed as he started tapping more, "Then I can blackmail mullet."

Hunk smiled as he rolled his eyes, but he removed a camera from his vest as he snapped a few pics of the two still-surprised felines. Setting it to record, a lava red star formed in the air. Keith jumped as soon as he saw it, always a millisecond behind the projection. It flew up one of the trees, and Keith raced after it, no signs of slowing down.

Another flash of light, this time purple, came to life in the shape of a flying ribbon. Shiro looked at it before he started chasing it around. Hunk almost stopped it when it started up another tree, but Shiro launched himself up almost as quick as Keith had even with one front leg. They continued to play until a few hours later.

"I'm pretty sure a cat isn't supposed to have that much energy," Lance groaned as he turned the laser ball off, "Cats sleep. Shiro and Keith don't sleep."

Both cats were laying next to each other, but neither looked remotely ready to sleep. Glancing at the time, Hunk's eyes widened in shock. They had spent the whole day here.

Both Lance and his stomachs growled loudly as they both grinned sheepishly. Both cats seemed to raise a brow as they stared at them.

"Time for supper," Hunk shrugged as he gathered the dishes up. Lance once again took Shiro into his arms, and Keith followed them as they walked back to Pidge who was still typing away on her computer. She blinked as she looked at them before her stomach growled too. Not saying anything, she put her computer away before picking up Keith who seemed a little startled. But soon, as they walked, Hunk notice that he was purring slightly and curled up in her arms.

They finally got into the kitchen. Grabbing a few ingredients, Hunk made a basic dish that was similar to a BLT sandwich. Giving some to the others, he gave the two cats more food from the dishes on the floor. Sitting down, he started eating his own meal.

 

“Hello, paladins,” the Altean walked up to them before her brows moved down, “They are still...cats?”

 

“Yep.”

 

“Mhmmm.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Mrrrwww.” Shiro added with a flat look on his face. Hunk had to stop from laughing at it.

 

“We really must get them back to normal,” she spoke as she stared at them, “Voltron cannot be formed if they are still cats.”

 

“Alright,” Pidge nodded as she yawned, “We'll work on it tomorrow. I couldn't find anything today.”

 

“Alright.”

 

Just as Hunk went to open his mouth to speak, movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He whipped his head to the side to see Shiro who was panting in pain. His pupils were slits as his tongue hung out of his mouth slightly. Keith had his head tilted worriedly as he let out a tiny mewl.

 

“What's going on?” Allura asked with confusion and concern in her voice. Shiro stumbled back as the limbless shoulder twitched a little. As the shoulder moved some more, Shiro panicked even more, silently breathing quickly. Too quickly.

 

“He's having a panic attack!” Pidge stated worried as they watched on, not knowing what to do, “Probably phantom limb pain.”

 

Keith let out a yowl as he held his paw up like it hurt. Hunk's brows scrunched down in confusion until he saw that Shiro was starting to focus on the smaller cat. Said smaller cat limped forward and gave a tiny cry when his foot touched the ground.

 

“This isn't time to play around, Keith,” Allura spoke as she stared down at the two.

 

“No,” Lance pointed at them, picking up on what Hunk was thinking, “He's distracting Shiro. Look.”

 

Shiro was calming down. His breathing was slowing down, his arm no longer spasming, and his eyes less frantic than before. His dark eyes blinked before they settled on Keith who plopped down on the white floor. Getting out a meow of worry, Shiro moved over to the other cat. Said cat licked his shoulder apologetically when he was close enough before he trilled, head tilted sharply. Shiro sniffed the other before collapsing onto the younger. They all let out shouts of surprise, thinking Keith would be crushed under the bigger's weight only for Keith to relax against the floor. A soft rumble filled the air as the older draped himself over Keith who flicked an ear.

 

“What...was that?”

 

“Them comforting each other?” Pidge guessed as she shrugged, “I have no idea but I'm ready for bed.”

 

“Let's get them back to their pen,” the princess nodded as she watched the two cats swaying tails as Shiro started to knead Keith's shoulder with his one front paw. Keith purred even louder as he all but melted right there on the spot. Shiro let out a tiny deep purr of his own as he settled down on the smaller's shoulder, still moving his paw on silky fur. Hunk smiled as he carefully gathered both up without disturbing them. In no time, he had them back in their shared pen. Unfortunately, or rather fortunately as seen later, he didn't notice the screen didn't seal all the way before he left.

 

…..

 

Pidge woke to loud sirens going off. Before she could move from her bed, something grabbed her by the arms, locking them together behind her back. Snapping at them, she tried to land a hit to their body but quickly gave up when she noticed it was a few sentries who had her. Letting them drag her out of there, she was soon thrown down on the floor of the bridge. To her left, Allura was there with a deep scowl, glaring ahead. On her other side, Hunk and Lance were both thrown into place with yelps and grumbles. The only one left was-

 

“OH QUIZNAK!” The older Altean joined their group as he was tossed to the other side of the princess. 

 

“We are missing the Champion and Red Paladin,” the Galra, tall and rough-looking, spoke to a communicator on his armor, “But they'll be found soon. They wouldn't hide when their teammates are all captured. Who should we harm first? The little one? The princess? The lanky blue one?”

 

“Hey!” Lance protested only to go silent as golden eyes glared at him, “Heh heh…”

 

“They'll be here,” the assistant Galra stated from back at the control panel on the castle where Coran always stood, “This is where they meet when the alarm goes off.”

 

Pidge toned them out as she looked around. There was no way out. The two paladins they were looking for were cats locked up in their kennel. It seemed the Galra didn't know they had been turned into felines. The doors were all blocked by sentries, each armed with blasters. There were two living Galra in the room and no clue how many out the halls or outside the castle. Pidge dropped her head to the cold floor. Glaring at the vent for a few seconds, she paused when she saw something move. Before her very eyes, the vent peeled away to reveal a small black paw. 

 

Soon, a cat's head peeked through the vent before violet eyes landed on her. The look on Keith's face practically screamed for her to be quiet, so she nodded in understanding and turned away. 

 

“Sir,” a voice came over the device the leader was using, “We cannot find the two paladins anywhere.”

 

“Keep searching!” He growled angrily as he turned to them, “Where are they?”

 

“No clue,” Pidge stated as she stared at the alien, “They're usually in the observation deck.”

 

“PIDGE!” Hunk whispered loudly as he frowned, “What are you doing?”

 

“They also hang out on the training deck a lot.”

 

“Search them!” The man screeched before he smirked, “And when we find them, we have plans for the two for defying us. Zarkon wants his champion back. Perhaps we'll throw the Red Paladin in with him. See if he is a champion like the Champion is. Or maybe we'll turn him into a little experiment...I heard from a little someone that he isn't completely human.”

 

Pidge grew cold. She had a basic understanding that the Galra didn't tolerate impurity within their species. Mixed species were looked down upon even more than other species. Keith would be tortured even worse if he were captured. It couldn't happen. She wasn't going to let Keith or Shiro be taken away. Not her new family…

 

“The things we can learn,” the man smirked wickedly, highlighting the few scars he had on his brow, “We know about human anatomy thanks to Champion. But we have no idea how a half-breed works. Perhaps we'll infuse some quintessence into him. Or we could take an organ out. Or maybe the druids will have their way with the half-br-”

 

A loud hiss and growl echoed through the air as Shiro fell out of the vent above the Galra. Letting out an angry yowl, he landed on the man's face, leaving ribbons of bleeding cuts down the alien's face. As he screeched in pain, Pidge could see Keith taking down the other living Galra, sharp claws ripping into purple flesh as the other fell to the ground. 

 

Turning her attention back to the leader, she watched as Shiro took on the alien, biting and scratching him. By now, the man's face was bleeding in multiple places. His hands were also bleeding from all the bites Shiro had gotten through his gloves.

 

Pidge felt something on her backside. Ready to throw it off, she froze when she heard a small trill. A moist nose tapped her hand before her cuffs fell off. Slowly, she rubbed feeling back into them as she moved to get up.

 

Until a yelp filled the air.

 

The alien stood there, holding Shiro in his tight grip. The cat's arm was twisted at an odd angle, obviously broken. The man's hold was on Shiro's neck, holding strongly as the other stressed for air. Unable to breathe, Shiro pawed weakly at the man.

 

“You have an uncanny appearance to the Champion,” the man chuckled as he tightened his hold, “If I didn't know better, I'd say it was you. Zarkon wants you back. He didn't say you had to be alive.”

 

Before she could act, Pidge saw a blur of black fur barrel towards the two. Keith jumped onto the man, letting out a growl and yewl as he clawed his way into the man's eye and lip. The man howled in pain before he dropped the other injured cat who plopped to the floor and heaved in deep breaths. At the same time, the alien slapped his hand against Keith who went flying, slamming into the ground and bouncing a few times. Rolling to a stop, they all heard a _snap_ as something on Keith broke. He didn't get back up as Pidge saw that it was the cat's rib to get hurt, sticking out of his skin. Shiro dove at the man, getting a few new bites in before the feline jumped away, he rushed over to Keith with a soft meow. 

 

The rest of them rushed at the enemies, easily taking out the distracted Galra and the sentries.  Turning back to the cats, they were saddened by what they saw. Shiro stood awkwardly over the other, not giving any mind to his own broken left arm. He was softly purring and licking the injured cat's forehead. Keith was laying on the floor, almost unmoving except for the uneven rising of his chest. Dark eyes stared at the other in silent agony as Keith struggled to breathe. 

 

“His rib must be stabbing into his lung!” Pidge exclaimed as Coran ran to his desk, powering up the device, “We have to get them to the pods.”

 

“It's going to be difficult,” the orange-haired man spoke as he raised a brow, looking at the layout, “There are sentries in every direction. Wifhout our weapons, we won't be able to fight them.”

 

“Uh,” Hunk trailed off with a glance at the two hurt teammates, “Keith needs a pod like...now!”

 

“That's it!” Pidge shouted as the idea came to life in her mind, “Our armor! I know I had my bayard in the storage unit! If I can get it, we should be good.”

 

“Oh, yeah!” Lance grinned as he stepped to his door to his lion's hangar, “I put it in my armor too! In Blue!”

 

“Ditto,” Hunk’s face grew determined, “My bayard is in the Yellow Lion.”

 

“For once,” Allura spoke up as she grabbed her fighting staff from nearby, “I am glad you did not put your stuff back in the armoury.”

 

“I'll grab our two paladins!” Coran shouted as Pidge stared for her hangar, “I'll make sure Number Four stays still and alive, but hurry!”

 

Pidge stepped into the elevator to go down. Stepping off of it, she quickly grabbed onto the zip glider and zipped across to her speeder. Taking off, she landed into her lion before being pushed into the cockpit by the seat. At the command were her pieces of armor. She threw them on, not bothering to change out of her own pajamas. Rushing back to the group, she nodded as the other two came up from their own.

 

Marching up to the doorway, she looked around the corner, seeing two sentries. Gesturing to the whole group, Lance quickly got the idea. He peeked his sniper rifle and took them down with two blasts to the back. Pidge motioned to them to get going. Coran instantly went to the middle of the group, Keith wrapped in his arms and Shiro right next to him, worrying away. Allura was towards the front, and two guys in the middle, and Pidge guarding their back. 

 

Walking down the halls, they took out all the enemies. Eventually, they made it to the medical bay, which was luckily clear. Allura pulled up two pods as the other Altean placed Keith within the first one. Before they could close it, Shiro let out a mrow and jumped inside. He soon laid down next to the other after nuzzling his face into Keith's neck.

 

“Can they do that?”

 

“The mice were in a pod, they'll be fine,” Pidge concluded as she watched, “Seal them in. They need to heal right now.”

 

The door closed.

 

…..

 

Shiro woke to a stuffed head. It was like someone had put cotton in his ears and weighed his head down. He shivered a little as cool air rolled over his body. He couldn't quite remember what had last happened. Everything was so foggy.

 

He remembered being in the middle of battle, a bright flash of light, fleeting moments of clarity, having a panic attack because his arm **wasn't there and wouldn't work!** , someone calming him down, taking on a Galra, hearing a wicked snap, the same someone not moving, feeling scared, darkness-

 

Warmth settled into his front and along his neck as Shiro blinked. Looking down, he was surprised to see Keith was pressed comfortably to his chest. The younger man was still asleep, breathing calmly. Shiro himself let out a relieved breath that fogged the air. They were dressed in the black undersuit from their armor, the white outer ones mysteriously gone. 

 

Shiro blushed as he felt Keith press closer while nuzzling into his neck. A hand put itself to Shiro's back as Keith hugged him more. The older placed a hand over the other, hugging him back. The air warmed up.

 

“Shiro?” Keith peered up at him from ebony bangs. Rubbing his eyes, he too shivered, “What happened?”

 

“I'm not sure,” Shiro rubbed some warmth into his best friend's body while offering a smile, “But we seem to be in a pod.”

 

Keith glanced off to the side before his violet eyes landed on Shiro again. There was something soft and unspoken within them as they stayed on his face for nearly a minute before Keith carefully pushed away from Shiro to stand up.

 

“I'm,” Keith cleared his throat before glancing away, “I'm going to get changed.”

 

“Me too,” Shiro looked down at his suit, “Your clothes are...um...in my room.”

 

“I know,” Shiro snickered as some of Keith's younger self showed with the comment and rolled eyes, “I put them there.”

 

“Well,” Shiro smiled warmly, cheeks dusting hot, “You're welcome to come join me in there, if you want.”

 

“Sure,” Keith smiled back as he tilted his head in a way that always sent tingles throughout Shiro, “Let's go.”

 

Before he could breathe, Keith grabbed his hand with his much smaller one. Pulling the man along, he soon evacuated the medical bay. Shiro followed blindly behind, eyes wide and breathe gone as the other made his way to their sometimes-shared room. Keith looked so carefree, like he had no worries about anyone seeing them. Shiro couldn't help but grin. Keith was amazing in his own ways.

 

Said man looked back at him, raising a brow.

 

“What?” He asked as his brows scrunched down, “You okay, Shiro?”

 

“I'm great,” Shiro responded genuinely as he slipped in front of the other and took the hand not connected with Keith's to the other's shoulder, “I'm glad you're here and okay.”

 

“Me too,” Keith smiled softly as he tightened his hold on the older's hand, “It's good to have you back.”

 

“Good to be back,” Shiro laughed as a memory from what felt like years ago surfaced into mind, the same phrase but the smaller hand on his shoulder instead, the sunrise before them, “Let's change and go find the others.”

 

“Okay,” Keith nodded before he smirked, “But we should probably shower first.”

 

“ _Keith,_ ” Shiro groaned as he covered his blushing face, knowing full well that the other knew how a sentence like that would affect him, “Keith…”

 

“Heh,” Keith snickered before he pressed his hand to the scanner on the door. As the door opened, the smaller led him inside as the door snapped shut with a cool hiss. Starting for the shower door, Shiro grinned as he rested his chin on the younger's head. Keith just grumbled like a cat, not even really mad as he turned on the shower.

 

Shiro could live with this.

 

(And he did, in fact, get a shower with Keith after that)

**Author's Note:**

> Are they already a couple??? The world may never know...
> 
> (I sure don't ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ even though I'm the writer =^D)


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